the force is too strong with this one
by Empress of Everything
Summary: In which Levy realizes it may not have been the best idea to introduce Gajeel to Star Wars. "Good grief, I've created a monster." {Modern AU, GaLe, sequel to overdoing it a bit?}


"Sit."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I said no."

Both stood there, Levy dwarfed by the much taller Gajeel. This was their predicament:

Levy wanted Gajeel to watch Star Wars.

Gajeel didn't want to.

Both were equally matched in stubbornness, neither wishing to yield and give the victory over to the other.

They were at an impasse.

Levy decided to bring out the big guns. She wasn't blind to the fact that Gajeel was susceptible to cuteness. _Very susceptible._ His cat, Pantherlily, was evidence of that fact. Levy had been called cute her whole life. Not beautiful, not gorgeous, not hot, but _cute_. It could be very frustrating. Her whole college career boys hadn't dated her because she wasn't conventionally beautiful. (The fact that she had two overprotective bodyguards may have contributed something to it, as well, but she wasn't sure.) But Levy could turn her 'cuteness factor' to her advantage in this situation.

Levy blinked slowly, catching Gajeel's attention. She clasped her hands under her chin and sent him a look that was full of pleading. Using a trick she had used to great advantage on her best friends Jet and Droy in the past, she made her eyes look shiny, as if she were about to burst into tears. Gajeel audibly gulped when presented with such a picture of adorableness.

"Please watch them with me, Gajeel?" Her voice was light and pleading, with a hint of tears threatening. He appeared to waver, then grow resolute. But before he could refuse her, Levy played her trump card.

"I'll make popcorn."

She had won, she knew, the moment his eyes lit up at the mention of food. He had to sigh, however, and pretend he was doing this reluctantly, but Levy knew better. Her ability to read people told her that Gajeel actually wanted to spend time with her, lots of time actually.

"Fine, Shrimp," he said gruffly. "I'll watch your silly show."

Levy whooped and threw her hands up in the air. "YES!" Gajeel stared at her open-mouthed. His scowl deepened as he realized he had been played by a skillful manipulator. Levy ignored him and bounded back to her room. Quickly riffling through her belongings, she found what she was looking for and danced back to Gajeel. She thrust the bundle at him. "Here, put this on!"

He stared at her as if she had suddenly grown another head. "Excuse me?"

Levy rolled her eyes. Leave it to Gajeel to be difficult. "It's a tradition," she explained. "Every time I watch Star Wars, I wear the same shirt. Anyone who watches it with me gets to borrow a shirt to wear." She held up her own shirt. It was black with the iconic Star Wars logo in yellow. "Jet and Droy gave this to me for my birthday when I was thirteen and just starting to get into Star Wars." She tugged it over her head, her blue hair poofing out like a jack-in-the-box. Levy beamed at a bemused Gajeel. "Now put your shirt on."

Gajeel sighed, then held up his shirt.

And burst out laughing. The shirt was black as well. On the front it had the words "My other car is a Death Star" in gray with a Death Star below it. That wasn't why Gajeel was laughing.

He was laughing because the shirt was a XXL.

"Shrimp, what is this? Did ya miss the size on the tag? I think this would swallow you up if you tried to wear it! Gihihi!"

Levy pouted. "It was the last one on the rack _and_ it was on sale," she stressed. "Why would I let it slip out of my hands? And it only comes to my knees," she muttered sheepishly. Gajeel just shook his head, grinning at her like an idiot.

"You're something else, Shrimp."

Levy blushed and looked down. Darn Gajeel for making her feel so funny inside. She brushed the feeling away, opting instead to sock him on the arm and go make popcorn. "Make yourself comfortable on the couch!" She called over her shoulder. She didn't look back to see if he listened to her or not. Five minutes later, she reappeared popcorn bowls in hand. "All right!" She chirped, setting them down and moving to pop the DVD into the player and hit start. Levy walked back over to sit next to Gajeel, who was now wearing the shirt she loaned him. She would _never_ say it out loud, but it looked… _really_ great on him. Cheeks burning, she hastily sat down and pressed play.

As soon as the words, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…" appeared, she completely forgot the man seated next to her. The opening score began and she conducted along with it, waving her hands up and down while mouthing the words of the intro. Another strange movie watching habit of hers.

Gajeel stared intently at the screen. He seemed awfully determined, Levy thought absently.

"Shrimp?"

"Uh huh?"

"Who's the chick with the funny looking hair?" Gajeel seemed ridiculously interested in Princess Leia's hair. Levy wasn't sure if he was admiring it or trying to figure out if it was defying gravity in some way.

"Princess Leia. She's one of the main characters."

"Huh. Let me guess, the guy with the armor is bad."

Levy giggled. "Yep!" She chirped. "He's like the main villain and he…" Levy trailed off, slapping a hand over her mouth abruptly. Oh no! She almost gave out a spoiler! Levy never, _ever_ , _ever_ gave out spoilers. Not after the one time Lucy had almost ripped off her head for spoiling the end of season 2 of Sherlock. Yeesh. Blood and hair was flying after that incident. You would have thought that Levy had threatened the safety of Lucy's non-existent firstborn child the way Lucy had flown at her.

Gajeel gave Levy a funny look then turned back to the screen. She felt herself go limp with relief. Oh thank goodness he hadn't realized that she was about to ruin the whole series for him. That would've been horrible. Levy would be kicking herself until the end of time.

The rest of the movie progressed rather calmly. Gajeel wasn't really the type of person to react to much, from what Levy had observed. But that didn't mean she _watched_ him! That's creepy! That's the sort of thing Juvia did! Levy just… _noticed_ what Gajeel did. That was it. He was a very noticeable person! Nothing more. Even if he was very cute… _Anyway_ , he didn't say much. He seemed to approve of Han and thought that Luke was a wimp. At least she thought he did. She wasn't sure if she had just been imagining him muttering about Luke being "a pansy and a pushover".

Somehow, in between finishing A New Hope and getting through about a third of The Empire Strikes Back, the two had managed to shift positions. Neither really noticed. Gajeel had sprawled out on the couch with Levy leaning back against his chest, half upright, half sideways. To an outside observer, they looked like a couple cuddling on the couch. Neither noticed because they were so occupied in the movie. All was peaceful and comfortable.

Until it wasn't.

"WHAT?!" Levy was hurled forward off the couch as Gajeel bolted upright, a massive jolt of adrenaline bursting through her system at Gajeel's howl of shock. She landed on her bum on the floor and stared up at her stunned friend. Somehow, she managed to pause the movie while watching him rant. "WHAT DOES HE MEAN, LUKE I AM YOUR FATHER? WHAT IS THIS? THE GOOD GUY'S DAD IS THE ULTIMATE BAD GUY? WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO? LEVY, _WHAT DID YOU MAKE ME WATCH?_ "

Levy meeped at his expression. She had never seen anyone react like this while watching Star Wars. Seeing Gajeel freak out was… _hilarious_. Gajeel looked around, realizing that Levy was no longer sitting with him. "Levs? Where did you go?" He looked over the back of the couch.

"Down here!" She squeaked. Gajeel's expression eased as he leaned down to help her up.

"Are you okay, Shrimp?" Levy nodded bashfully. They stood there for several moments, looking at each other, but not looking at each other. Levy squeaked as she realized she and Gajeel were still holding hands. She dropped his hand as if had burned her, blushed up to her roots and her bright blue eyebrows, and began babbling to cover the sudden awkwardness.

"So what do you think so far? Are you interested? Are you hungry? I think I'm hungry. What is it, lunch time? Yeah, I think I'm hungry. That popcorn earlier didn't fill me up. Do you want to order pizza? Because pizza sounds really good right now and oh Mavis I think I'm babbling again Gajeel stop me before I make a fool of myself even though I think I've already done that and I really like seeing you in my shirt and I think I'm going to go order pizza. Be right back."

Levy couldn't run away fast enough.

* * *

Setting down her plate covered in pizza bones, Levy heaved herself up as The Empire Strikes Back ended. She fiddled with the DVD player, hit play, and hurried over to take up her spot next to Gajeel. She waited, keeping a surreptitious eye on his expression. Honestly, so far he had had the _best_ reactions. Not even Natsu compared to Gajeel's excellent reactions. After his major freak out over Darth Vader's revelation, he had calmed down slightly and couldn't wait to see how Luke and the others rescued Han from Jabba the Hutt. Levy had to bite her cheek to stop herself from laughing.

Ho BOY was he in for a surprise!

The opening scene began. Gajeel stared, as if wondering what was going on. "Shrimp? Why does it say Episode 2? It's supposed to be Episode 6!"

Levy twisted a lock of hair around her finger and didn't look at Gajeel. "Well, yes, technically, it should be Episode 6, but we're watching it differently. This is the best way to watch Star Wars if you've never seen it. We're going back in time, so cool your jets and watch the movie!" Surprised by her outburst, Gajeel subsided, still muttering about wanting to see Han's fate. Levy poked him. "Calm down, Metal Head. You'll find out what happens to Han after Episodes 2 and 3."

Gajeel's face was a picture of despair. Levy just laughed at him.

* * *

As the credits for Return of the Jedi rolled, Levy felt Gajeel jab her in the side with a large finger.

"Shrimp?"

"Yeah, Gajeel?"

He looked at her with pleading in his red eyes. She wasn't used to seeing him look like that, so she leaned back, alarm entering her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Please tell me there is more. This can't be it. There has to be more." Voice tragic, Gajeel looked like a kicked puppy. Levy didn't know if she should giggle from the sheer cuteness, or pat his head sympathetically.

"Well, we did skip Episode 1, and then there are five seasons of the Clone Wars, and The Force Awakens comes out in a few months…" Levy yelped as Gajeel grabbed her up in a crushing hug. "Gajeel! What are you doing!" The bluenette was flustered, completely forgetting that the two of them had just spent over ten hours cuddled together on the couch like a couple. And Gajeel was freaking her out. What on Earth had come over him?

"I'm glad," he muttered in her ear, making her flush even more. He still didn't seem to know what he did to her.

"Er, I'm glad you like Star Wars so much," Levy stuttered out. This was embarassing.

"I'll come back tomorrow and we can start the Clone Wars." Gajeel released Levy from his embrace, stood, and ruffled her hair. Whining pettishly, she slapped his hand away and made him laugh. She stood as well and walked him to the door. As they stood, slightly awkward, (though you think they would be over that by now, yeesh, they had just spent ten hours together, come on!), Levy stopped fiddling with her shirt hem at Gajeel's clearing his throat. "Oi, Shrimp?"

"Yes, Gajeel?"

"I'm keeping the shirt, since you said I looked so good in it." He winked, leaving her red-faced and spluttering.

"GAJEEL!"

"See ya tomorrow, Shrimp!"

"Oh, no, you bring me back my shirt, Gajeel Redfox! Gajeel, did you hear me? GAJEEL!"

* * *

 **A?N:** AUs. Modern AUs are my life. Modern AUs in which Levy is a nerd and Gajeel becomes one make my heart sing. I hope y'all love them as much as I do!

And the sequel that was supposed to be short ended up almost twice as long as the original story. How does that even happen?

I'm planning out the sequel to this sequel (what is that? a threquel?), but that one may be in hiding until The Force Awakens comes out. I'll give you a hint: cosplay. That's all I'm gonna say! ;)

By the way, did you know that poofing is technically not a word? I was stunned. Also, they watched the movies in this order: 4, 5, 2, 3, 6. Yes, they skipped Episode 1.

I regret nothing!

Also, don't forget to tell me if you want in on MidKino week, due to happen sometime in late January/early February. :)


End file.
